Volkswagens Get Two Podium Spots at Rally Italia

Jari-Matti Latvala finished second and Sebastien Ogier claimed third at the Rally Italia Sardegna this weekend. The Volkswagen drivers finished just behind Thierry Neuville, in his Hyundai. Andreas Mikkelsen, the third Volkswagen driver, meanwhile finished 13^th.

The battle for the overall lead, though, came down to Latvala and Neuville. The two were trading stage wins all weekend, and on Saturday, they were as close as three seconds apart. Speed stages, though, proved to be better for the Hyundai and Neuville pulled away, eventually building up a lead of 24 seconds.

Mikkelsen was having a good weekend, trailing his teammate Ogier by only a few seconds before retiring from a stage with a broken track control arm after he hit a rock on Saturday afternoon, effectively ending his hopes of catching up the third place finisher.

Ogier meanwhile struggled all weekend. As the championship leader, he had to run through the stages first, when they are worst. Despite only finishing third, though, he still extends his lead in the driver’s classifications.

With a total of 132 points after six rallies, he has a 64 point lead over the second place Dani Sordo (Hyundai). Andreas Mikkelsen (67 points) drops down into third place following the Italian rally, though he’s only one point behind Sordo. Latvala, meanwhile, is in sixth place in the standings with 57 points, despite only having finished half of this season’s rallies.

Volkswagen Motorsport extends its lead in the manufacturer’s championship. It now has 178 points, while second place Hyundai only has 108.

The teams rally again on June 30 at the 73^rd PZM Rally Poland.

The post Volkswagens Get Two Podium Spots at Rally Italia appeared first on VWVortex.

from VWVortex http://ift.tt/1YnHFvD
via IFTTT

Comments

Watch: The Stig Drives (nearly) Seven Generations of Golf GTI

With Volkswagen announcing “major” updates to the Golf, it seems an appropriate time to look back on what we’ve had so far. And who better to guide us through the rich history of the most popular European car ever made than Ben Collins, the former Stig? Some say he’s never met a GTI he doesn’t love, and that he can’t grow any of his own facial hair. All we know is … Ben Collins is actually a pretty solid presenter. Working his way through seven generations of the GTI (skipping over the Mk6) Collins tells us a little bit about each one and matches each mark to its corresponding facial hair craze. The Mk1 GTI for instance, is light and quick, but can lose traction under hard acceleration (in heavy rain). Despite that, Collins calls the Mk1 a “pure gem.” The Mk4, meanwhile, is a powerful return to form after the perhaps too sensible Mk3. Collins ends in the only way he could, with the Mk7, which accelerates faster than a Lamborghini Countach and is all kinds of wonderful. Watch, ...

Watch: The Story of the Ads that Made VW Big in America

The ads for the original Beetle are almost as famous and well-loved as the Beetle itself. Looking back now it’s easy to forget, though, just how easily things could have wrong. A new short from Dial M Films tracks the history of those early Volkswagen ads that sold America on the people’s car. The story, of course, begins with the visionary agency that made the ads: Doyle Dane Bernach (DDB). As a popular agency for Jewish products, no agency was more aware of the implications of Volkswagen, and no one, it seems, was more skeptical of the brand than DDB. “Remember Those Great Volkswagen Ads?” from Dial M Films on Vimeo . William Bernbach, though, was adament that the firm take the client, probably as a way of attracting other lucrative automotive clients. Saddled with a client that he didn’t want, art director Helmut Krone says in the film that he originally came up with ads that were all wrong. Krone tried to do what other manufacturers did and was intent on selling the Beetle ...

Watch: The Zerouno Cruis’n USA

ItalDesign is drumming up excitement for its new supercar based around the same 5.2-liter Audi V10 that powers the R8. Naturally, it hit the road for a cruise around California last week to celebrate Monterey Car Week. There isn’t much in the way of V10 noise—which is a real shame given the sound it makes—but you do at least get a good look at the car inside and out in this video. With a body made entirely of carbon fiber and designed to be as aerodynamic and light as possible, ItalDesign figures that it will be good for a 0-60 time of just 3.2 seconds. “We put it our best skills into the production of the first car,” said Massimo Bovi, head of pre-series production, when the Zerouno was first unveiled in Geneva earlier this year. “Using some of the finest productions methods and engaging our high-skilled workers.” The car features clever aero tricks gleaned from single-seat racing, like a y-duct up front to improve downforce and turn-in. Available in a number of trim levels, the...

Vorderman Volkswagen

Search This Blog